Quarter-hour electricity prices: what they mean and who gains
Prices have been set per quarter hour since October 2025. You only notice if your contract follows the quarters.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Since 1 October 2025 the Swedish day-ahead price has been set for each quarter hour instead of each hour, giving 96 prices a day. A quarter-hour contract (kvartsprisavtal), which replaced the old hourly contract, means according to Energimarknadsbyrån that you pay the spot price for the power used in each quarter, plus the retailer’s mark-up and VAT. On a fixed or variable contract the change went unnoticed. Quarter-hour pricing pays off for those who can move consumption into cheap periods: charging an electric car, the tumble dryer, the dishwasher, a water heater. A 100 öre spot gap between an expensive and a cheap quarter becomes 125 öre with VAT, while energy tax and the grid transfer fee stay the same. Moving 10 kWh a week that way saves SEK 650 a year. Try your own prices in the calculator.
What do you save by shifting use?
Saving per year, with VAT
SEK 1,560
| Difference per kWh with VAT | 150.0 öre/kWh |
| Per week | SEK 30.00 |
| Tax and grid per kWh | unchanged |
Only on a quarter-hour contract. On a monthly variable or fixed price the bill does not change.
From hourly to quarter-hour prices
On 1 October 2025 the Nordic power exchanges switched to trading in 15-minute intervals. Energimarknadsbyrån described it as the price now updating four times an hour instead of once, and Svenska kraftnät as 15-minute resolution introduced on both the day-ahead and intraday markets; balancing the power system also happens every quarter. The auction for the next day is still held at 12:00 the day before.
For households, nothing changed that did not already follow the hourly price. Variable monthly prices are still a monthly average and fixed prices stay fixed. Only those with, or signing, a quarter-hour contract pay different prices in different quarters.
Three contract types side by side
- Quarter-hour contract (kvartsprisavtal): each quarter’s spot price, plus mark-up and VAT. Cheapest for those who use power when it is cheap, dearest for those who cannot choose.
- Variable monthly price (rörligt månadspris): the month’s average, weighted by all customers’ use in the zone, plus mark-up. When you use power during the day does not change the bill.
- Fixed price (fast pris): the same price per kWh for the contract term, one, two or three years. Statistics Sweden figures on what they cost are in fixed or variable price.
What moving an appliance is worth
| Appliance | kWh per use | Per use at a 100 öre gap | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washing machine | 1 | SEK 1.25 | SEK 260 |
| Tumble dryer | 3 | SEK 3.75 | SEK 585 |
| Dishwasher | 1 | SEK 1.25 | SEK 325 |
| Electric car, 30 kWh | 30 | SEK 37.50 | SEK 5,850 |
Washing and dishes give small sums per use, because an eco programme draws only 0.5 to 1 kWh according to the Swedish Energy Agency. What makes a difference are large loads that can move: car charging, a water heater on a timer, a tumble dryer. Heating can rarely be shifted more than a few hours before the house cools.
A worked example: one week with an electric car
Suppose a family charges its car three times a week, 30 kWh each time. The prices below are examples, not market prices: the daily average is 90 öre, the dearest evening quarters 160 öre and the cheapest night quarters 40 öre, all before VAT. Charging straight after getting home in the evening costs SEK 180 a week for the energy, on the spot price with VAT. With a timer set for the night, the same charging costs SEK 45. The difference is SEK 135 a week, or SEK 7,020 a year if the pattern holds. Grid fee and energy tax are the same either way and do not affect the comparison.
On a variable monthly price the family would have paid the same whenever it charged, roughly the month’s weighted average. That is why a quarter-hour contract is a choice for people who will actually steer their use, not a contract that is cheaper in itself. Try your own prices in the car charging calculator.
Where the gap between quarters does not land
Energy tax of 36.0 öre/kWh and the grid transfer fee are charged per kWh whatever the time, unless your grid company has peak and off-peak rates or a power charge. So a moved kWh saves only the spot gap, with VAT. If your grid has a power charge, spreading use out to lower your highest hour can pay as well; that is a different thing from chasing the cheapest spot price.
Finding the cheap quarters
- After the 12:00 auction, tomorrow’s prices are published. Get them from your retailer’s app.
- Paste them into the calculator for tomorrow and choose how long the appliance will run.
- Set the timer on the washing machine, dishwasher or wallbox to the start time the calculator suggests.
Patterns of when power tends to be cheap are covered in the cheapest time for electricity. On the spot price and why we do not show it, see spot price.
Who should choose quarter-hour pricing?
A quarter-hour contract suits households with a large load that can wait: an electric car parked at home overnight, a water heater, a pool or a heat pump that can be controlled. Someone in a low-use flat with nothing to shift has little to gain and may lose if use happens to fall in expensive quarters. A variable monthly price is simpler then, and a fixed price suits those who want to know the amount in advance.